Virtus
by brit-lovaas
Summary: "True strength is keeping everything together when everyone expects you to fall apart." -Unknown. Suddenly proclaimed a hero and savior, a young Imperial tries to figure out who she is and what her true purpose in life is. Along the way, she meets a mysterious man, who seems to be harboring a dark past and secret. Rating and title may change.
1. Chapter 1

**(·.·´·. ¸.·;Virtus·.¸.·´·.·´)**

**•.¸.¸.•´•..¸·.¸.(¨· Chapter One·´¨)·¸.•¸.•´•.¸¸.•**

**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

_". . . A coward gets scared and quits. A hero gets scared, but still goes on."_

_-Unknown_

**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

Deer peeked out from behind bare trees and sharp rocks, their eyes wide and ears perked up as Emelia passed by, her feet crunching over the snow covered dirt pathway. She was winding up the hill that lead to Bleak Falls Barrow now, the sun slowly making its way towards the horizon line, the sky slowly growing dark.

With her eyes on the ground, Emelia mumbled under her breath, "Go to Bleak Falls Barrow, get the Dragonstone - maybe the claw - and try not to die in the process. . . I think I can do this. . ."

There was some rustling from a nearby patch of thick grasses, catching her gaze. A small brown rabbit had hopped onto the road, pausing only for a moment, ears and tail up, to study the slowly approaching girl before scurrying off back into the woods. Emelia's eyes went back onto the road afterwards, continuing to study the dirt path.

A few minutes later, she stopped on the pathway, a hand running through her hair as she let out a long, shaky sigh. "I can't do this. I can't. They should just get some of their guards to do this."

She scoffed, continuing her walk. "Divines, I'm not even able to cast novice level destruction spells. . . or use a sword. . . How do they expect me to-"

Blood.

There was a trail of blood leading into the landscape just off the road. Her eyes traced it for a while, but whatever it was that was bleeding out had made it's way far off from the pathway. She was leary at first with the thought of straying from the path, since she did not have the time to get lost, but it could be some poor hunter mortally wounded from a fight with a ferocious beast. If that was the case, then she felt it was her duty to help.

The snow was much deeper off from the road, but her boots managed to keep anything from getting her feet wet and chilled. The extra top she had bought back at Whiterun helped to keep her warm as she trudged through the snow, but it was going to be dark soon, and the temperature would be decreasing very fast. If she was able to locate the person, she'd have to set up a camp immediately.

A thought crossed her mind, slower her down just a bit. What if it wasn't a person that was hurt, but rather some big creature? Would it attack her the moment it laid its eyes onto her? Would it even be alive? If it were some animal, she prayed for it to be dead. Emelia knew that she wouldn't be able to defend herself if it put up a fight.

After taking a sharp left turn, she came across a large rock that almost appeared to hover over the land, creating a small sheltered space. With the slowly diminishing light, it was difficult to make out any forms resting underneath, so Emelia had to advance forward before she could see anyone.

Deep within the space, laying up against the rock, was a male Nord. His long dark brown, almost black hair, which appeared to be matted and covered in blood, was falling out of a pony tail that laid over a broad shoulder. His face was well defined, and a strong jaw was covered in a light scruff.

Thick arms rested at his sides, gashes covering them, and after a closer inspection, some almost appeared to be bite marks. His shirt was also torn up and bloodied, which made it difficult to determine just how injured he really was, since a good amount of the blood could easily belong to another entity, but she didn't feel like that was the case.

Seeing the condition this man was in, Emelia didn't hesitate to rush over to his side and check to see if he was even still alive. She placed a hand in front of his mouth, checking to see if she could feel any breathing as she watched chest. Both the rising of his chest and breaths of air were shallow, but they were there.

Doing the best she could to be gentle, Emelia took off the shirt, throwing it somewhere to the side, and moved his body flat onto the ground. He was much heavier than she had anticipated, and thought for a moment she was going to lose her grip on him, but she managed to hold out until he was resting on his back.

She sucked in a mouthful of air before letting it all go in a quick burst. "Gods, please let him live."

Emelia hovered her hands over the stomach wounds first, since those seemed to be the deepest of all the cuts. Focusing her magicka, she felt a slight tingly sensation spread out from her elbows to the tips of her fingers before a yellow glow poured out from beneath her palms. It was almost immediately that the wounds began to disappear, molding back into smooth flesh.

The spell she used just then was one that required much more magicka than her normal healing spell, so after all that mending of flesh, she felt herself begin to grow light headed. However, there was still work to be done on his arms and other parts of his body, so she knew she would just have to hold up a bit longer.

There were perhaps one or two deep gashes on his arms, but generally all the other wounds he had were fairly mild, and didn't require quite as much time to heal. Emelia was grateful for this, especially since she started to grow nauseous after mending the last cut on his thigh.

Slumping back up against the wall, Emelia groaned, feeling absolutely drained of all her energy. She could recall healing deep gashes like this in the past, but never so many at a single time. It would have been perhaps smart to have used just one of her potions, but she didn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary.

It took a few minutes to get some firewood and actually start up a fire, but Emelia managed to get it all going with little was even pleased that she could cast another spell, let alone a destruction spell, without passing out.

Having the fire going, and the stranger all healed, the Imperial decided it best to get some rest for her journey tomorrow. She was going to have to get that Dragonstone one way or another. She had to.

Taking a blanket from her bag, she was on the verge of sleep when she decided to look over to the stranger and realized that he still had no shirt on. There was nothing that Emelia owned that would fit him, so she gave up her blanket for him, placing it over the upper half of his body.

Emelia gazed over at him for a moment, watching his chest slowly rise and fall from underneath the blanket and his eyes move under the lid. There was no telling just how close he was to death before she found him. He probably wouldn't have survived the night, that much she was sure of.

She might not be able to fight properly just yet, she thought, but she was happy to be able to at least save one life.

**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

**A/N:** I wasn't really liking the original first chapter, so I ended up just taking it out completely and replacing it with what was chapter 2. Sorry this is so short, but I promise the next chapter won't be. Please drop in a review and let me know if you liked it or if I need to fix anything!


	2. Chapter 2

**(·.·´·. ¸.·;Virtus·.¸.·´·.·´)**

**•.¸.¸.•´•..¸·.¸.(¨· Chapter Two·´¨)·¸.•¸.•´•.¸¸.•**

******•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

_"Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try."_

_-Unknown_

**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

_Fire. _

_Fire had surrounded them, falling from the sky, crushing the town of Helgen, smoldering it. Strange and alien words were booming all around, and the battle cries of soldiers challenged them. _

_Her mind was in a daze as she watched the town fall into ruin from the cold ground. Children were screaming, looking for their parents. Horses cried out as they tried to free themselves from their reins. People were curled up as they bled out and burned._

_Then, a voice. A single voice had managed to break through to her. _

_"Hey, Imperial. Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!"_

_She struggled to stand, nearly falling down on the first try, but she manage to get up onto her feet. She wasn't really thinking about her actions when she ran after the Nord. Everything was simply happening. _

_"In here. This way! Come on!"_

_Once inside the stone structure, making sure to slam the door behind her, Emelia listened as Ralof began to speak to the blond man who had been in the cart with her earlier. She tried to focus on their conversation, but after seeing the environment they were currently in, it was difficult to do so._

_Their words were there, but nothing seemed to make sense. The only word she seemed to latch on to was "legends". Otherwise, all her attention was on the men behind them. They sat on the floor, huddled up and bandaged, crying out from the pain._

_Someone had taken her by the arm, and began to lead her up the stairs to the right, saying, "Up through the tower, let's go!" _

_At the top of the building, a man had been moving away some rocks, trying to clear up a pathway, but he was cut short. The dragon had burst through the wall, crushing the man. Before Emelia could get hit by the dragon's fiery breath, she was quickly dragged back down a few steps to steer clear of the flames, a scream escaping past her lips._

_**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**_

Her eyes shot open, and she let out a quick gasp before she came to the realization that it was only a dream. Emelia's body was stiff and covered in a cold sweat, but other than that, she noted, she was alright.

The sun was just beginning to break past the horizon line when she woke up. Long dark shadows were stretched across the land, giving it the appearance that strange creatures were roaming the landscape. Emelia lifted herself into a sitting position as she began to look around her campsite.

The fire had long since died out, leaving behind small hot embers. There would be no point in relighting the fire other than to cook a meal, but she didn't want to spend too much time up here, so she left it be. Everything had a light dew covering it, which made her shake when her skin made contact with the damp stone floor, chilling her to the bone.

Her companion appeared to still be asleep, unless he was actually dead, which absolutely terrified her to think of. Caught in a slight panic, Emelia stepped over to the sleeping Nord, her eyes wide and her mouth gaping.

She reached out to tap his arm, but her hand floated nearby as she hesitated. A deep sigh escaped past the man's lips, which sent a wave of relief to rush over Emelia. He was alive, but she still needed to wake him up, just to check up on his current condition.

"Um, excuse me. . ." Emelia lightly patted his arm, but he didn't even stir. She pouted for a moment before applying a little more force. "Hey, you need to wake up."

Suddenly he moved, rolling over onto his side, his back facing the Imperial. Soft snores could be heard for a moment before he settled down into a quieter sleep. Whether or not that was intentional Emelia didn't know, but she still found herself growing impatient and annoyed.

Taking a deep breath, Emelia shook his shoulder, trying to be as gentle as possible. "Please wake up. I have to-''

There was a grumble, and then his body very visibly stiffened. She could see his head turn back a bit before he got up, an arm placed behind him to keep him propped up. Emelia, who was kneeling at the time, almost found herself falling over at his sudden awakening.

Long, thick hair flowed over his broad shoulders as light brown eyes, almost gold, watched her carefully. The Nord's mouth was curled into a long frown as he studied the girl sitting in front of him. For a moment his gaze left her and moved down to the blanket that was still placed over the lower half of his body.

When he turned his attention back to the Imperial, she opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice low and gruff.

She could only gape at him, finding herself in too much of a shock to respond. "Emelia," she replied before giving the man a small smile, but when the gesture wasn't returned, she quickly continued on. " I was making my way to Bleak Falls Barrow when I found you- well, actually, a trail of your blood, but, um. . . what happened?"

His eyes narrowed at the girl before he spoke in a low, stern voice. "That is none of your business."

She couldn't help but to suddenly feel threatened by the man, with his dark aura surrounding him, so she scooted back a bit, her gaze falling down to the ground. He watched her only for a moment longer before looking down to his stomach, running a hand over the flesh.

Soon he was looking at his arms and other various parts of his body. "You did a good job."

Her eyes shot up to the Nord, her brows furrowed. "What?"

"Healing me. You did a good job."

"Oh, thank you. . ."

Emelia could feel his gaze on her, but she refused to look up, even when he began to speak to her again.

"What business do you have in Bleak Falls Barrow?"

"Ah, well, I. . ." she was finding it difficult to speak all of a sudden. Was the mere thought of going to that place that frightening to her? "I was asked to go get a stone tablet of some sort, and a golden claw. The tablet for Whiteruns court wizard and the claw for someone in Riverwood. But. . ."

"But?" he repeated, his brows furrowed.

Emelia let out a quick sigh before a smile settled on her lips, shaking her head lightly. "No, it- it's nothing."

"It does not sound like 'nothing'."

She didn't respond. After a moment, she was back onto her feet, grabbing her supplies, preparing to head out. The Nord watched for a while, studying her rigid movements.

Since she refused to continue the conversation, the Nord did it for her, saying, "Well, we better start moving as soon as possible."

Pausing suddenly, Emelia found herself turned around to face the Nord. "We?"

He gave her a small nod. "You saved my life. I owe you."

She was back facing her supplies, a smile sneaking onto her features. When she spoke, her voice was almost non existent. "Yes, I suppose you do. . ."

The two packed away the camp in silence, the only noises ever coming from around them were from the surrounding land, be it from the birds singing from within the trees or the wolfs howling in the distance. The last item to be put away was the blanket, which the Nord handed to her gently, his eyes never meeting with hers.

As she folded the blanket up neatly and began to place it into her knapsack, a thought crossed her mind. "You know, I never did get your name."

"That is because I never gave it to you."

Whether or not that was suppose to come out as cold as it did, she still felt a bit hurt and almost embarrassed. Her face felt flushed, and her breath was caught in the back of her throat as she stared down at her bag. She almost wanted to argue back, but, seeing that he was nice enough to help her retrieve the items, she held back.

She also wanted to question him how in Oblivion he wasn't freezing to death without a top on, but she figured it was just a Nord thing to not be bothered by the cold. Other than worrying that he'd freeze, she also didn't feel comfortable being followed by a half naked man. But help was help, and she wasn't in the position to complain.

Throwing the knapsack over her shoulder and onto her back, she motioned him to follow. Their feet crunched over snow and dead leaves as they trudged forward. Occasionally did Emelia look back, but the Nord's attention was always somewhere away from her. It was not long until the stumbled upon the pathway to the barrow, the sun still relatively low in the sky.

Still taking the lead, Emelia stepped up the sloped path, her new companion following not far behind.

**•.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•´ •.¸¸.•**

**A/N: **First of all, I would like to say thank you so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I was so happy to see all of them!

So it's slightly longer than the last chapter. . . I would have continued, but I thought it would be best to have all of their adventure in the barrow to be in the third chapter, so that's why I cut off where I did.

Thank you _daisy-chains-and-bow-ties_ for point out that one detail. I actually did go back and play through the beginning of Skyrim and saw that I made an error regarding the order of events that happen. . . Heh, oh well. Changed up the previous chapter a bit, but it wasn't too big a change where I think anyone really has to go back and reread the chapter.

Seeing that I am not perfect, I really do appreciate feedback!


End file.
